It Was Always You
by n1ghtw-ng
Summary: A collection of unrelated drabbles and oneshots pertaining to the romantic relationship of Wally West and Artemis Crock, otherwise known as Spitfire. Check back for updates!
1. portait in grayscale

**Prompt: You will be able to see the world in full color once you meet your soulmate but until then, you can only see the world in the eye color of your soulmate.**

She knew all the shades.

Artemis Crock knew her uniform was a dark shade of green. It resembled the color of the grass under her feet or the leaves on the trees during the warmer months. She had the privilege of seeing such a color. The arrow emblem across her chest was a lighter shade, resembling a granny smith apple. From the palest mint to the darkest forest green, she saw each one stand out against the grayscale world. Her favorite was the shade that resembled the color of limes. It was bright and vivid, especially against the grays she'd known her whole life. She wanted so badly to see what it'd look like compared to other colors her mother spoke of, especially red. She had no idea why, but something about the way her mother described it made her want to know where in the world it fit into place. Almost like a puzzle.

Green eyes were rare. If she remembered correctly from her freshman biology class only a measly 2% of the world's population had green eyes. So of course, her soulmate had green eyes. That was her luck.

Very rarely did she meet people with green eyes. When she did, her heart would skip a beat and she'd mentally count to ten with her eyes closed in the hopes of that when she reopened them, there would be color.

At first, she thought it was her elementary school crush. His eyes weren't entirely green. They were mixed with something else (from what her mother told her she assumed blue), which made them have days of being more green than blue or vice versa. Her mother described it as a sea green. The idea appealed greatly to the archer, but nothing came out of holding hands on the playground as a second grader.

The same thing happened with her first boyfriend. He wasn't really her boyfriend, just a boy who was a really good friend and who she happened to kiss at the 8th grade dinner dance she was forced her to go to. His eyes were a shade of green that looked like a gemstone she'd only seen in pictures - jade. It was also a name shared with her older sister whose eyes were a dark shade of brown, again, from what her mother said. Anyway, his eyes were pretty, sure, but they weren't her favorite shade. Their kiss wasn't like what she expected out of movies or books. There was no spark, no fireworks, and certainly no color after it.

Today was the day she'd been anticipating for the past few weeks. Oliver (Ollie, GA, Green Arrow, whatever she wanted to call him at the moment) had gotten her a spot on the newest team of sidekicks formed by Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and some newer heroes she wasn't familiar with. She was new to the whole hero thing. The vibrant green suit on her body and the sling of arrows with bow she carried were still foreign objects to her.

The thought of being around strangers made her uneasy. Although she didn't want to admit it, she didn't know _how_ to make friends, real friends. Her school friends were, like herself, a group of teenagers with colorful pasts that somehow tolerated each other during their lunch hour at Gotham North High School. The teenagers she was about to meet, on the team, they'd become more than just acquaintances. She'd work with them, spend time getting to know them, save the world with them. Surely she had to get them to like her. Somehow.

When she met Oliver outside of the broken-down photo booth just off of Gotham's main street, her hands were trembling. She'd never admit it to her mentor simply because she didn't want to give up the illusion she was tough. Nothing got to her, or so she let on.

"Ready, kiddo?"

Artemis nodded in response before she watched Oliver step into the gray toned booth. After a flash of bright light his forest green outfit disappeared. She took a deep breath before following suit, having done this a dozen times before.

"Recognized, Artemis, B07. Transporting."

Seconds later she was in a large, unfamiliar room surrounded by kids her own age all dressed in their hero getups. She was looking around taking it all in; the mentors, the computers, the mentees. It was nothing like she imagined. There was no sign of color she could see. Everything was grayscale.

"Team, this is Artemis," Oliver's voice snapped her from her daze. Immediately she tensed up, clutching her bow in her hand.

"Hi," she said awkwardly, darting her gaze away from the group of four. She could've sworn there were five of them. Who was missing?

"Artemis! Hi!" The Martian girl's voice chirped. Her green skin was vibrant against the grays of the world around them. "I'm M'gann! You can call me that or Megan, I don't care which. That's Conner," she said pointing to the one in the black Superman shirt, "Kaldur," she pointed to the dark-skinned male with tattoos down his arms, "and Robin," she pointed to the shorter boy with the mask. None of them had green eyes and it slightly disheartened the archer.

"They're just waiting on one mo-" Oliver's voice was cut off by the Zeta Tube's computer.

"Recognized Kid Flash, B03."

"Guys I'm here!" He had his hands full of beach equipment; a towel, sunscreen, an umbrella. Artemis's eyebrows furrowed together. What in the world. _He_ was a hero? Hero of the losers, maybe. After a few steps, he tripped, dropping everything. Artemis snickered, her eyes closing as she covered her mouth. It was a poor attempt at keeping some sort of composure.

"Wally!" M'gann's voice called as she frantically flew over to him, offering to help him up.

"Uh, somebody wanna tell me who the girl is?" He asked as he slowly picked himself up off the ground.

"The newest addition to the team, that's who," Artemis answered, taking a step in his direction. "Kid Flash, huh? A little late for a speedster," she teased. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and locked with his. They were the brightest green she had _ever_ seen. Especially against his fiery red hair.

She stopped herself immediately after the thought. Red? She glanced around the room. M'gann's red hair was noticeable too, as was the red Superman logo against Conner's black shirt. It was just like her mother described it and she fell in love right then and there. She looked over at Oliver and noticed his blonde hair, then over at the wall seeing all the different shades of brown in the rocks.

"Oh my god," she mumbled as she blinked a few times, just making sure she wasn't crazy. She found color which meant that Wally was her soulmate.

"Artemis?" Oliver's voice asked, reaching out to gently touch her shoulder. She jumped, snapping out of the trance she fell into. "Are you good?"

"Yeah...yeah, I'm good," she nodded as she was still taking in all of the color. She let out a shaky deep breath, for now keeping the secret of color and her soulmate to herself.

She decided that Wally's eyes were her new favorite shade of green, red was her second favorite color, and that nothing would ever compare to the feeling in her gut at the combination of the two.

* * *

wow it has been _far_ too long since I've published! this is the first step in an exciting new adventure! I'm going to be posting short drabbles and oneshots spitfire related here. I don't know how often it'll get updated but it will so if that is interesting to you at all, please check back!

ALSO keep an eye out for a chalant story similarly formatted to this one as well. I'd love to do more of my otps in the future but as I am a busy college student, this is the best I've got.

I hope you guys all enjoyed! read and review, fave and follow if ya liked it!

lots of love and holiday cheer for you all!


	2. pretty eyes

**Prompt: You will be able to see the world in full color once you meet your soulmate but until then, you can only see in the eye color of your soulmate.**

Wally West was quite the colorful character. His hair was a fiery shade of red, which still managed to stand out against the blondes and brunettes of his grayscale world. His eyes were a vibrant emerald green, or so his mom said. She claimed they were the best eyes she'd ever seen. His Kid Flash uniform, as Barry put it, was a blinding, electric yellow. It wasn't always the easiest on the eyes but it made him stand out from the Scarlet Speedster. Although he was surrounded by various colors and shades, he couldn't see any of them.

When he was little, talks of soulmates started up at family get-togethers amongst him and his cousins. He was the oddball. Everyone else saw browns or blues while he only managed to see gray, gray and grayer. He thought he was broken. Maybe there was nobody out there who could be a perfect match for him. His soulmate simply didn't exist. Mary West constantly reassured him that none of those things were the case. Gray just happened to be the color of his soulmate's eyes.

 _"It'll just make you appreciate color, sweetheart,"_ she would say. He kept this motto close to heart, reminding himself this when friends at recess would talk about anything related to color and soulmates.

As he got older the idea of his soulmate entertained him less and less. What was the point? Why tie yourself down to one person when there's a whole world of girls? Or better, a whole universe full of girls. Currently, one martian in particular was on his mind. Clearly, she wasn't from Earth. It explained why meeting here didn't open his life up to color and why he could still only see gray. Scientifically, it made sense. Sort of. If she was his soulmate, he'd be okay with never seeing color. He'd accept her undying love and affection in its place and never think twice about what red and yellow looked like together ever again.

Today, Wally began his first day of sophomore year. It was a hotter mid-August afternoon. It was his luck that Keystone High School started sooner than all other schools in the country. In the morning, he received a text from Dick, Robin, asking to meet them at the beach. He agreed that once school got out he would be there in a flash (pun intended).

All day he wished he could be at the beach with the Team, his friends. He was daydreaming about jumping into the cold water of Happy Harbor Beach, playing beach volleyball with M'gann on his team, and eating grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. The last thing he cared about was learning things like chemistry and calculus. The clock teased him, each tick he was seconds closer to freedom. When the loud buzz of the bell hit at 3:05, he was out of there faster than any student or teacher could blink.

After a minute or two he stopped running in front of his house, barely breaking a sweat.

"Mom! I'm home!" He called as he walked in the door.

"Home so soon?" His mother asked with a playful grin on her face. "Didn't school just get out, oh I don't know, three minutes ago?" Her hair was the same shade of grey as his own.

"Yeah, got to get to Happy Harbor with enough time to still go to the beach! Everyone went!" He said before zipping upstairs to gather what he needed. His mother only shook her head with a smile on her face. When Wally reappeared his hands were full and the grin on his face stretched ear to ear. Mary could easily see the joy in his eyes behind the bright red sunglasses on his face.

"Do you want to eat before yo-"

"Nope! I need to hurry! See you tonight!" His voice was eager and she didn't want to hold up her son any longer. So she waved and blew him a kiss before he smiled and sped out the door.

Wally got to the Zeta Tube transporter in seconds. He, as fast as he could, stepped inside with all his belongings in his hands, careful to not drop any.

"B03 Kid Flash to the Cave, Happy Harbor."

"Recognized, Kid Flash B03, transporting."

Wally's items vanished from his hands first, evaporating like smoke. Next, his body materialized and he felt weightless. It was the second best feeling in the world, only beaten by the feeling he got when running.

"Arriving, Kid Flash, B03," he heard the computer's voice speak. His body slowly regained feeling and his belongings reappeared in his hands.

"Guys! I'm here!" He called out excitedly, running toward the group of teens who seemed to be in their hero attire. He couldn't be too late? The sun didn't set until at least 7:30 at night. They still had hours to spend in the water and hang out. His mind was racing so quick, he didn't even notice that the towel he had slipped from his grip. It tangled itself around his legs, causing him to trip over his own two feet and drop everything.

"Ah!" He yelled as he fell, hitting the ground stomach first.

"Wally!" The voice of M'gann, his martian crush, called out. She quickly flew over to his aid while the rest of the team snickered ever so slightly. There was one laugh he didn't recognize though. A girl.

"Uh, somebody wanna tell me who exactly this girl is?" He asked with furrowed eyebrows. M'gann helped him up off the ground and he brushed himself off, trying to keep his cool.

"The newest addition to the Team, that's who." Her voice was cocky, arrogant. He made a face, holding back an eye roll. She made another comment about his speed which he happily ignored. Who did she think she was?

It took a moment to realize but his sunglasses had a weird tint in the lenses. He hadn't noticed it before. Maybe it was from the fall? Slowly, he slid them off of his face to rub his eyes. When they reopened, he watched the transition from gray to color. His breath hitched.

The grays practically melted away at the overwhelming amount of color. He noticed that M'gann's skin and the color of the new girl's suit were in the same family. Maybe it was green? He thought the gray variant from before was similar to the shade in the grass which he knew for a fact was green. Some of Robin and Aqualad's suits resembled the color of his hair. Red. He knew that one. He looked down and saw the eye-popping color in his swim trunks. Who allowed him wear this? He'd have to make a mental note to try and stray from such a bold color.

He turned to face the girl once again, who he heard get called Artemis by Green Arrow. Artemis, huh? He looked around the room one more time before his eyes settled on her. She was out of it too suddenly. He wondered but decided to not ask. Soulmates were private.

Their eyes locked for a brief second. Hers were as gray as the world he grew up in. Gray eyes, who knew they really existed? A small smile crept up onto Wally West's face. When he took a second to admire her, she was gorgeous. Her hair was long, which seemed fitting somehow. She was tall but not taller than him. Her face was slim, but her eyes made it striking. Something he knew he'd never forget.

Soulmates weren't fake, Wally now knew that. He wasn't broken like he believed he was. No, he was more than alive with a heart so full of love and color nobody could ruin his mood. His world may have been gray up until now but gray was the color of his soulmate's eyes and he appreciated it. Without it, without her, he would never have seen the beauty of the world and the beauty in soulmates.

* * *

hello again my lovely readers! i'm so pleased to bring you the second installment of my one-shot/drabble collection!

this was a continuation of the soulmate au, but i was given the suggestion to do it from wally's perspective. it was a challenge but oh so worth it in the end. i really hope you enjoyed! read and review, fave and follow :)


	3. brucely

"Okay what about this one?"

"He's cute...just, too small."

"You never specified size was important."

"Babe, size is _always_ important."

"Wally!" Artemis yelled as she threw a small pillow across the room at him. He laughed as he caught it with ease. "You're disgusting! And you're making dog adopting so much more difficult than it needs to be!" To this the redhead rolled his eyes, still smirking.

"As if. You're the one who's picky. I said let's get a German shepherd but you said that's too much hair, then I said let's get a Jack Russell terrier and you said they're too hyper," he argued.

"I was all down to get a corgi and you said they're too tiny, and then I said Great Dane and you said they're too big, so you know what? It's coming from both ends," retorted Artemis. "We're never going to adopt a dog, this is hopeless."

"Hey! It isn't hopeless per say, we just need to find one that fits us," Wally reassured her as he plopped down on the couch next to her. Their struggle to find the perfect furry friend had been ongoing since the idea of adoption came to light about a month prior. "Come on, let's keep looking at the shelter's website."

Wally pulled Artemis' laptop from her arms and placed it in his lap. Once he was comfortable and began to slowly scroll down the adoption page, Artemis shifted so she was leaning against his arm, her legs tucked underneath her as she looked over the page too. The two remained like this for the next few minutes, making comments about what they thought every few seconds or so.

"Oh! What about him!" Artemis pointed to the screen. Wally stopped scrolling to look. The dog pictured was absolutely adorable like the others they'd seen but different. His face was full on beagle, but he was big and stocky like a boxer, with a brown and white coat of fur. The dog had a lopsided smile on his face. Instantly, Artemis was in love.

"He is cute..." Wally's voice trailed off. He clicked the link for the dog's biography and he quickly began to read through it. "His name is Meelo, he's two-years-old, they don't really know what he is. He was brought in a few months ago from an abandoned household, a neighbor found him just sitting in the backyard. He's friendly, good with kids, and has a lot of energy."

"Wally he's meant to be ours." Artemis was serious, no tones of doubt plaguing her voice. There would be no arguing with her on this, and Wally chuckled.

"Are you sure you don't want to keep looking?" He asked cautiously, not wanting to blow her fuse. She rapidly shook her head, signaling her answer. "Then looks like we found our pup." He flashed his trademark grin.

"Okay, so we're going to get him tomorrow, right?" Artemis asked as she excitedly looked up at her boyfriend who nodded in agreement without hesitation. "I wish it wasn't so late so we could just go now."

"Don't sweat it, babe. We'll go in the morning, get him, take him to the pet store for some treats and toys. It'll be a good day. Meelo's perfect, although he needs a better name. What about Dash?" To this Artemis rolled her eyes.

"As if, I like Meelo, he looks like one," Artemis countered. Wally shrugged his shoulders, signaling it wasn't the biggest deal. They could work out the logistics once they brought him home.

"But promise me we'll wake up early and go get him?" Artemis asked again to ease her nerves. Wally nodded again.

"Cross my heart, babe. Tomorrow we'll go get Das- I mean, we'll go get Meelo!" He promised with a grin before closing her laptop, leaning over to put it on the coffee table. Immediately, they both stood up from their spots on the couch.

"Good, then let's get some sleep. We need to get up bright and early for this," Artemis instructed as she began to make her way to their bedroom. They'd only been living together for about a month and a half, but the couple agreed it was getting lonely in the apartment. An animal would liven things up.

Growing up, Wally always had a pet. At one point, the West household had two dogs, a cat, a dwarf hamster, and three turtles. Both of Wally's parents loved animals and he naturally gained the trait. It'd been quite some time since he'd had a dog, however, but there was no time like the present.

Artemis always dreamt of getting a puppy. She loved the idea of bonding with an animal. As a little girl, she always drew herself holding the leash to a dog she never owned. Her dad, while still living at home, claimed they were too much work. Once her mom was out of prison, she was not fit to take care of a pet, even if Artemis did almost everything. The apartment setting didn't help her cause either. She gave up on the dream long ago, but now it had resurfaced and with a vengeance.

The couple slept soundly that night. Both had visions of puppies in their dreams, happy as can be to go adopt and bring another family member into the West-Crock household. They'd already cleared it with their landlord a few weeks prior, the only thing left to do was find their forever friend.

* * *

Artemis naturally woke up when the sun was shining through the sheer curtains hanging over the window. She groaned, burying her head in her pillow. Wally heard this and rolled over to face her, throwing an arm around her waist and pulling her close to him. That was her favorite thing, and it made it ten times harder to get up.

"Arty," Wally mumbled, "I never want to leave this bed."

"Ditto," Artemis grumbled. She lifted her head for a moment, catching a glimpse of the clock on the wall. She laid her head back down as her eyes fluttered closed once again. It took a moment for the time of 11:30am to register, but once it did she bolted up, eyes wide open. "Wally!" She exclaimed as she jumped out of bed. "We need to go, like now!"

"What time is it?" The redhead groaned. He lifted his own head to answer his question and his eyes grew wide as he too bolted up. "Shit!"

The duo quickly got ready; they got dressed, brushed their teeth, and ran out to the car. The shelter was about a fifteen-minute drive. They wouldn't get there until almost noon.

Artemis would've been lying if she claimed her stomach wasn't tied in knots. She felt guilty. How could she forget to set an alarm? How did the two of them sleep so late? Wally noticed the frazzled look on his girlfriend's face and he frowned, extending one arm over to her and taking her hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze to calm her down.

"Babe, it's fine. How many people are really going and planning on adopting a dog today? Let alone the dog we want?"

* * *

"Maybe I spoke too soon," Wally said in shock as he and Artemis walked up to the shelter entrance. Today just so happened to be their adoption fair. Of course, it did. Artemis looked like she wanted to scream, but Wally was determined to stay positive.

"I swear to whoever the hell is listening if my dog isn't in there..." Artemis grumbled as the couple walked into the shelter hand in hand. Wally wanted to keep his girlfriend calm, but there was no stopping her when she was this ticked off.

"Hi! Welcome to Tails Adoption Center! Can we help you today?" The woman at the counter asked once she saw them walk in. Artemis didn't say anything, so Wally began to speak.

"Hi, uh, we were looking to adopt a dog today, but specifically Meelo, he looks like a beagle mix of some kind.". If he wasn't holding Artemis' hand, Wally would've crossed his fingers that their dream dog was still there.

"Let me go check, it is our adoption fair today and tons of families have been in and out all morning," the woman said kindly. "Please, have a seat," she gestured to the chairs on the other side of the room. The couple did so, anxiously awaiting their answer.

"I feel like we're waiting for the gender reveal of our child or something," Wally mumbled. Artemis cracked half a smile before playfully elbowing her boyfriend.

Before Artemis could make a comment back the woman from before emerged. Artemis couldn't read her facial expression, which caused her whole body to tense.

"I'm so sorry, but Meelo was adopted earlier this morning. However, there are tons of other friends who are adoption ready and waiting for a good home," she said apologetically, giving the pair a sweet smile before returning to her post behind the welcome desk..

Wally frowned and looked over at Artemis, who looked devastated.

"Arty, what are you thinking?" He asked softly.

Artemis was quiet for a moment. She had everything set on Meelo. He was everything she wanted. Did she want to even try going in there? She didn't want to get her hopes up, again. However, her heart knew that there was a room full of animals who were in desperate need of a forever home. They needed to be saved and she was a hero. That triumphed over her disappointment.

"Yes," she said as she stood up. Wally blinked for a minute.

"Yes you want to go in or yes you want to go home?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. She smiled as she looked over at him.

"Let's go find us a dog." Without a second thought, she grabbed Wally's hand and headed into the adoption fair area.

The room was about the size of a high school gym. To the left was an area with all sorts of cats, the center had all of the smaller critters, and to the right were the dogs. Artemis instantly took off toward the right side of the room with Wally in toe. Today, he was more than thankful for his super speed. The couple wove their way through the crowd. There were families with small children crowded around even smaller puppies and elderly couples looking at the older dogs. So many people wanting to help give homes to animals who needed it; it was so heartwarming to Artemis.

As she and Wally walked hand in hand down the few rows, no dogs were really jumping out at them. Most of them had families interested in them, other cages and crates were empty. Artemis sighed. When Wally noticed, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Turn that frown upside down, babe. We'll find our dog," he said softly. She shrugged her shoulders in response. She opened her mouth to answer but she heard a woman begin to yell.

"Brucely! Knock it off!"

Both Wally and Artemis turned their heads. A woman, no older than Artemis herself, was struggling to hold back an all white pit bull puppy. He seemed extremely hyper like his senses were on overload from all the smells and sounds in the room. He was tugging her arm in all different directions. The woman had clearly dealt with enough and she tugged extremely hard on the dog's leash, causing him to let out an ear piercing bark.

"Hey!" Artemis yelled, running over to the woman and the dog. She was not happy with what she saw.

"Oh no," Wally mumbled as he ran after her.

"Be gentle with him! He's just excited!" Artemis snapped at the woman as she leaned down in front of the dog. He slowly inched toward her stretched out hand, licking it to signal he clearly wanted her attention.

"He's ridiculous! We should have never picked this dumb dog in the first place! Doesn't listen, chews up our furniture, jumps all over our guests. He is the dumbest excuse for a dog we have ever owned."

Artemis had enough.

"No dog is dumb, blame the owner," Artemis pointed out, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. The woman glared at her before tossing the dog's leash at the ground.

"You want the be that dumb owner? Fine. I'm done with this oversized oaf of a dog." With that, the woman turned on her heels, walking toward the exit. The few bystanders disbursed after that, leaving Wally and Artemis with the dog.

Artemis was sitting on the ground, scratching the pit bull's head right behind his ears. He was smiling almost, his tail happily wagging back and forth. He sat down in front of Artemis, moving his head closer and licking her face. She laughed and continued to pet him as Wally cleared his throat.

"Your name was Brucely right? You're such a good boy," she mumbled as she leaned over, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. He was absolutely adorable, and a total sweetheart. The woman clearly didn't know how to handle animals, at least that's what Artemis believed.

"So..." his voice trailed off, "did we find our dog?" Artemis didn't even answer. Brucely's ears perked up when Wally said that. He left Artemis' side and ran the few steps, jumping up on his back legs to be nearly eye level with the redhead. He was barking happily, tail wagging back and forth, trying to lick Wally's face. To this, Wally chuckled.

"I guess that's your answer," Artemis laughed as she stood up, holding Brucely's leash in her hand.

"Well, welcome to the family Brucely West-Crock," Wally grinned, gently pushing the dog down. Artemis rolled her eyes.

"Pretty sure it's Brucely Crock-West. I'm the one who found him."

"Only because you were going to pick a fight."

"Oh please," Artemis rolled her eyes with a smirk, "I would never."

This caused Wally to burst out laughing as he, Artemis and Brucely made their way toward the lobby to make sure Brucely could come home with them. When the woman at the desk gave them the clear, they hurried to get home, but not before stopping at the nearest Petsmart to get all the necessary things. Artemis was basically treating Brucely as her child, and Wally wasn't too opposed.

Although their day didn't go quite as planned, both young adults were over the moon. They'd finally found the pup to call their own.

* * *

 **long time no update, am i right?**

 **this has been written for like, the last 6 months, i just kept forgetting to post. i have some more that are also ready to go up (i'll get there eventually).**

 **anyone else HYPED for season 3? i need a new disclaimer now, lol. i cried watching the trailer and it makes this fic extra special.**

 **as always, please read and review, fave and follow! i love you all dearly!**


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